Family Magic Blog Tour: Character Profile

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Character Profile: Syd

Full Name: Sydlynn Thaddea Hayle

Age: 16

Physical Description: Slim but athletic build (she’s a kick-ass soccer player) with long, wavy brown hair bordering on black, blue eyes and a handful of freckles that show up when she gets too much sun.

Background: Syd has grown up in a powerful coven, the daughter of the leader and a Demon Lord of the Seventh Plane. Ever since she can remember, she’s wanted to be ordinary. A powerful witch who is also half demon, she has access to an incredible amount of magic. But using said magic makes her dizzy and nauseated and has driven her to hate her power. She struggles every day to fit in with the normal kids, suffering from bullies and living the life of an outcast. Her parents refuse to let her shed her magic until her eighteenth birthday and she is counting down the days.

Who she lives with: Her mother Miriam Hayle, 38, her grandmother Ethpeal, 64, her little sister Meira, 9, her demon cat Sassafras, (age unknown to Syd), Uncle Frank (frozen at 21 by vampirism) and his girlfriend Sunny (age unknown to Syd). Her father visits from time to time through his granite effigy in the basement.

Where she lives: Syd and her family have just relocated to a small town in Pennsylvania called Wilding Springs. It’s a charming, frozen-in-time kind of place with picturesque buildings and gingerbread houses, a tourist dream right down to the local hangout, Johnny’s, a classic ‘50’s style diner. As normal and ordinary as it feels, Syd can’t help but get the impression there is something otherworldly about the place.

Likes: Syd loves soccer, football captain Brad Peters, anything to do with normal and ordinary. Her mom.

Dislikes: Her demon side, how the entire membership of her coven seems to think they have a say in what she does, being bullied. Her mom.

Mysteries: The Moromond family arrives in town, old friends of her mother’s. Syd is oddly drawn to and repulsed by the deliciously handsome Quaid Moromond, their dark, lean and perfectly yummy witch son. Naturally, he doesn’t fit in with her plans to be normal. She struggles with seemingly coincidental attacks on her family while battling the bullies who try to put her in her place as the weird new girl. A huge black dog seems to be following her everywhere while, to her utter amazement, Brad Peters, the captain of the football team, actually wants to be her friend.

About the Author: Patti Larsen is a middle grade, young adult and adult author with a passion for the paranormal. Her YA thriller series, The Hunted, is available now. The first four books of The Hayle Coven series, Family Magic, Witch Hunt, Demon Child and The Wild are out now. Her YA paranormal novel, Best Friends Forever, and steampunk series, Blood and Gold, are due early in 2012. She is a full time writer and a part time teacher of her Get Your Book Done program. Patti lives on the East Coast of Canada with her very patient husband and four massive cats.

“Haralthazar,” my mother glided closer to the statue, “we summon you this third night of Power, nine days and nine nights from Samhain Eve, to tighten our bond with you and your realm.” She knelt at the foot of the altar, the picture of the submissive handmaiden. Could she be any more ridiculous? Seriously. “My love, come and be welcome.”

The blinding flash that leapt from her to the statue continued to pour out of her in a deep blue rush of light. I turned my head slightly to the side, squinting in the glare, grateful for the edge of the cowl and the shadow it made. The whole room started to thrum, the floor vibrating with condensed magic as Mom used the energy we had given her to make the doorway that would let my father through.

Sixteen-year-old Sydlynn Hayle is the daughter of a powerful witch and a demon lord of the seventh plane. The trouble is, she just wants to be ordinary. Syd struggles to survive the minefield of her new high school while being torn between her attraction to football hero Brad Peters and the darkly mysterious Quaid Moromond. When her coven comes under attack, Syd is forced to face the fact only her power can save her family’s magic.

I'm telling you now, TG Ayer... if Bryn comes within one FOOT of Quaid, Syd is going to be furious!! LOL So teasing, I know you have Bryn on the brain with Dead Radiance coming out soon... but Syd is unamused... ;) LOL

But Patti, it's a free world right? I'm sure Bryn can have Quaid. If Syd really wants him back she will have to harness her inner Demon and fight for him!LOL -this is way too funny *giggleYou're awesome Ms Larsen :)